Page 40 of Penalty Kick

With a minute left, she took a moment to let it all sink in. The smiles on the kids' faces, the number of fans who had stayed to watch and cheer them on, the score that showed they had held their own. All of it was incredibly special, a moment she never wanted to forget. And never wanted her team to forget.

A final blow of the whistle ended the game, the final score still one-one. Talia had hoped for a win, but no part of her was sad about a draw. The two teams lined up, exchanging high fives and congratulations. Talia hoped each one of them felt as much pride as she did in this moment.

“Great job, coach,” Dash said, sidling up to her and giving her a hip check. The move felt natural, like they’d been doing it for years, soothing the last of the irritation from the woman earlier that Talia hadn’t realized was still lingering. Dash hadn’t even turned around to acknowledge the woman, so why had she even let it bother her?

“Coach? I stood here. You were the one actually being helpful.”

“I can tell them where to kick the ball. Liam can tell them which way to dive. But you, Bonita, you are the reason they believe they can do it. You are the one who helped them find that in themselves. That is what a coach does.”

“How is it that you know just what to say?”

“I promise you, I do not. Gunnar and Liam will tell you I say a lot of wrong things.”

Talia laughed. Fuck, he was sexy. That wasn’t really news—looking at Dash had never been a chore. Getting to know him had shown her a different side to him though. A side she wanted more of. Lots more. Even with that niggling sliver of doubt. And that was something she’d never felt about anyone.

Letting her brazen side take over, she turned to face him, stepping into him so that there was only a small gap between them.

“We didn’t really get our dinner the other night,” she said, a smirk pulling on her lips.

“I do recall us eating,” he replied. Squinting at her, Dash’s smile turned mischievous, like he had an idea where she was going.

“True, we did. I just hadn’t intended for there to be additional company when I floated the idea of pizza.”

“I see.”

“So, maybe we could get a do-over?”

“A do-over? What is it that you have in mind, Bonita?”

Dash’s gaze was heated, flames dancing across Talia’s skin from the intensity. Everything about her felt like it was buzzing. How could one person make her feel this way?

“Well, it is Saturday night. Avery will be spending the night downstairs at Liam’s, so the apartment is all mine. What would you say to a movie night?”

“A movie night? What if we do not like the same kind of films?” he teased.

“Then I’m sure we can find something else to do.”

“Perfecto.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Bonita, I feel you have tricked me into watching a girl movie,” Dash said, giving her the side-eye from his end of the couch.

“If by tricked you mean that you said no to my question of ‘have you seen Dirty Dancing’ after you told me to pick one of my favorite movies, then yes. Yes, I did,” she answered smugly.

Dash playfully rolled his eyes, making her laugh. She had to admit, she did kind of trick him. There were a number of movies she could have chosen when Dash said he wanted to watch something she loved. Movies had always been one of her favorite escapes, creating a list that could fill a notebook of titles that she could watch over and over. They had also been one of the ways she and Gunnar had bonded when they first met, since he loved them as much as she did. Dirty Dancing was a go-to for her—at this point she was sure she could recite it from start to finish—so it seemed like a no-brainer to watch. Plus, it had the added benefit that if they didn’t watch it, she wouldn’t have felt like she missed anything.

“It really is one of my favorites,” she continued. “Like, top three.”

“Because the gentleman is hot?” he teased.

“I mean, if he were still alive, I’m pretty sure Patrick Swayze would be old enough to be my grandfather, but, he is pretty hot.”

Dash laughed. “Then what is it that makes you love this one so much?”

“Lots of things. The music is fun, and the dancing is cool. But more than that, I feel like Baby and I could be friends. Like we’d get each other.” Dash looked at her quizzically, prompting her to elaborate. “We’re both young and at a weird place in our life. We know who we are and what we want slash stand for, but feel like our family or the people around us don’t really understand that.”

That we’ve never been interested in the opposite sex until the hottest man we’ve ever met walked into our lives…